Angel Padron, the starting pitcher of Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuel,a celebrates his no-hitter with Hernan Perez after beating Nicaragua 9-0 at loanDepot park as part of Serie del Caribe 2024 on Feb. 7, 2024 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Luis Gutierrez/Norte Photo/Getty Images)
By Conor Liguori
World Baseball Network
MIAMI- Angel Padron punctuated the Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela’s 5-1 run through round robin play at the 2024 Caribbean Series with a nearly-perfect night.
Padron threw the second no-hitter in Caribbean Series history, facing the minimum 27 batters and allowing just one walk in Venezuela’s 9-0 win against Nicaragua.
The only other pitcher to throw a no-hitter in a Caribbean Series game was Tommy Fine of the Leones del Habana of Cuba, who accomplished the feat on February 21, 1952, in a 1-0 win against the Cervecería Caracas of Venezuela at the third edition of the event in Panama City, Panama.
Showing excellent command throughout the game, Padron kept the Nicaragua lineup off balance. The majority of balls put in play by Nicaragua hitters were weak ground balls and easy pop-ups.
Padron was perfect through seven innings, and Ramon Flores made a sliding catch in center field, robbing Nicaragua center fielder Francisco Peguero of a hit for the third out of the inning, keeping the potential perfect game alive.
He gave up a lead-off walk to Raudy Read in the top of the eighth, losing the bid for the perfect game and giving Nicaragua their only baserunner of the game. The next batter, Melvin Novoa, promptly grounded into a double play on an 0-1 fastball, erasing Read and any threat Nicaragua made to score.
Otherwise, there was little action in the game for either team until the bottom of the third when Venezuela manager Ozzie Guillen argued with home plate umpire Michael Salazar for several minutes over whether center fielder Franklin Barreto was hit in the wrist or hit a foul ball off the knob of his bat.
Barretto was hit by the pitch and was removed from the game due to injury, though the call stood that Barretto fouled off the pitch.
Venezuela took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth on a bases-loaded two-run single from center fielder Ramon Flores. Flores redeemed himself after going 0-for-4 in Tuesday’s game against Panama.
With runners on first and third in the bottom of the sixth, Alcides Escobar bounced into a 4-6-3 double play, but Yasiel Puig scored from third on the play to extend Venezuela’s lead to three.
Venezuela’s lead jumped to 4-0 on an RBI double from Wilfredo Tovar in the bottom of the seventh.
Venezuela put the game out of reach in the bottom of the eighth. Six hits, including two RBI doubles from Leonardo Reginatto and Alcides Escobar, put them ahead 9-0, giving Padron extra insurance – Not that he needed it.
Padron retired three Nicaragua hitters in order in the top of the ninth to complete the no-hitter. He was mobbed at the pitcher’s mound by his teammates and given a well-deserved ovation by the crowd at loanDepotPark in Miami.
The lefty finished the game with 57 strikes on just 88 pitches, struck out four, and faced 27 hitters, the minimum number of batters a pitcher can meet in one game.
Padron was respectable in 10 games with the Tiburones de La Guaira during the regular season, posting a 3.06 ERA in 17.2 innings.
Now, the 25-year-old, who never played higher than Low-A ball while in the Boston Red Sox organization, has his name forever inscribed in Caribbean Series history.
Wednesday night’s game was the last for Nicaragua in the Caribbean Series, and they finished the tournament 0-6. The Tiburones de La Guaira of Venezuela will face the Curacao Suns of Curacao in the semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 8 p.m. EST. The winner advances to the championship game on Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. EST.
All 2024 Caribbean Series games will be televised on ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ until the final out of the championship game.